A BRIEF HISTORY 


O F 


THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN WISCONSIN 


B Y 

FLORENCE ELIZABETH BAKER, A. B. 


(From Proceedings of the Forty-First Annual Meeting of the State Historical 

Society of Wisconsin) 



MADISON 

State Historical Society of Wisconsin 

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN 
WISCONSIN. 


BY FLORENCE ELIZABETH BAKER, A. B. 

[Paper presented at the Forty-First Annual Meeting of the State Historical Society of 
Wisconsin, December 14,1893.1 

The early history of the elective franchise in Wisconsin is 
so intimately connected with its history in the other states of 
the Northwest Territory, that it is scarcely necessary to re¬ 
write it here. Her fifty-four thousand square miles of terri¬ 
tory, with its sparse population of fur-traders and lead 
miners, were governed in turn by Indiana (1800), Illinois 
(1809), and finally by Michigan (1818). when Illinois took her 
place among the states of the union. 1 Still in those early 
days occasional mention may be found in some pioneer 
newspaper of the part that what is novr Wisconsin played in 
an election. In June of 1825, we discover a Detroit paper 
stopping its press " to announce that the schooner Harriet 
arrived this morning from Green Bay and Mackinac, bring¬ 
ing the intelligence that Mr. Biddle received eighty-two 
votes at Green Bay and forty-two on the Island of 
Mackinac. Mr. Wing received at the former place thirty- 
four and at the latter eighteen — and Mr. Richard two at 
Mackinac.” 2 

In 1830 the counties of Brown, Crawford, Chippewa, 
and Iowa, which included part of Wisconsin Territory, but 
were then in Michigan Territory, were exempted from the 
operation of the law requiring freehold security to be 
given for any purpose, or as a qualification for office. 3 


1 U. S. Statutes at Large , ii., pp. 58, 514; iii., p. 428. See also Thwaites’s 
“ Boundaries of Wisconsin,” Wis. Hist. Colls., xi. 

2 Detroit Gazette [June 14], 1825. 

3 Michigan Territorial Laws, iii., p. 831. 




2 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 

With the organization of the Territory, however, the 
separate existence of Wisconsin began. The agitation 
looking towards this result had been begun in congress by 
James Duane Doty as early as 1824, but not until April 
20, 1836, did the bill pass. 1 It went into effect the 4th of 
July following. By the terms of the bill, the executive 
power was vested in a governor, who was subject to re¬ 
moval by the president. He had the usual powers of a 
Territorial governor, and was also superintendent of Indian 
affairs. There was also a Territorial secretary. The leg¬ 
islative assembly, which was to consist of a council and 
house of representatives, was elected by the qualified voters. 
At the first election, every free white male citizen of the 
United States, above the age of twenty-one years, who was 
an inhabitant of the Territory, was entitled to vote, and 
was eligible to any office in the Territory. The qualifica¬ 
tions at subsequent elections were to be decided by the 
legislative assembly, provided, that the right of suffrage 
should be exercised only by citizens of the United States. 
All township and county officers, except judicial officers, 
justices of the peace, sheriffs, and clerks of court, were 
elected by the people. The chief justice and his asso¬ 
ciates, the attorney-general, and marshal, were appointed 
by the president; and all other civil offices not otherwise 
provided for were filled by the governor. 2 

The first election was held on the second Monday of Oc¬ 
tober, 1836, and although the time intervening between 
the governor’s proclamation and the election was barely a 
month, the first campaign excited considerable interest. 
The legislature elected at that time met at Belmont, in the 
present county of La Fayette, later in the month. It is not 
until 1838 that we find recorded “An act providing for, and 
regulating, general elections in this Territory.” The 
twelfth section thereof prescribes the qualifications of an 
elector: He must be twenty-one years old; a free, white, 
male citizen, or a foreigner duly naturalized; and must 


1 U. S. Statutes at Large , v., pp. 10 16. 
9 Ibid. t pp. 11-13. 









THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN WISCONSIN. 


3 


have had a six months’ residence in the Territory. The 
manner of voting was prescribed by section ten: The 
elector must hand a folded ballot to the judges, “who 
shall deposit the same immediately into a general ballot- 
box, prepared for that purpose, and the clerk shall take 
down the name of all such voters;" the polls were to be 
opened at nine and closed at six, but the closing of the 
polls might be postponed until nine, if the judges of elec¬ 
tion deemed such course necessary to receive all the 
votes. 1 

During the first few years of Territorial history party 
organization does not appear to have played an important 
part in the elections. In 1838, however, we find James 
Duane Doty, who was nominated by the citizens of Brown 
county as an independent candidate for Territorial dele¬ 
gate, writing thus to his fellow-citizens: “I hope, there¬ 
fore, my friends will permit me to decline the acceptance 
of their nomination as the nomination of a single county, 
and to express my desire, if it accords with their wishes, 
that they should submit my name to a general convention, 
and to tender them my thanks for the honor they have 
done me. ” 2 

In accordance with this suggestion, a convention of del¬ 
egates from several, but not all, of the counties, met at 
Madison on the 29th of August, and regularly nominated 
Doty, his opponent being George W. Jones, who had been 
placed in the field by public meetings held at Milwaukee 
and Mineral Point the 11th of July. Thus Wisconsin had 
seen the starting of its party machinery. 

The next year national politics entered into the local 
elections. The first demonstration was a democratic pri¬ 
mary held at Mineral Point, which called on the dem¬ 
ocrats of the several counties to organize, and “ to cor¬ 
respond frequently with each other to promote general 
harmony and concert. ” 3 On the 18th of June a “Territo- 

1 Lctivs of Wisconsin, 1836-1833, p. 404. 

2 Strong, History of Wisconsin Territory, p. 270. 

3 Ibid., p. 291. 

2 



4 


WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 


rial Convention ”—the result of a people’s movement in 
Brown and Dane counties — met at Madison; and the next 
day, at the same place, the “ Democratic Territorial Con¬ 
vention,” the outcome of the Mineral Point meeting. The 
first nominated Judge Doty for delegate, and the second 
Byron Kilbourn. Each of these conventions expressed its 
opinions of the other in a series of resolutions, which at 
the present date appear more ridiculous than dignified or 
forceful. ‘ 

Hardly was the Territory organized when an agita¬ 
tion for state government was begun. In his messages to 
the legislatures of 1838-39, and 1839-40, Governor Dodge 
recommended that the question be submitted to the people. 1 2 
The three succeeding years it was defeated by overwhelm¬ 
ing majorities, and the next two years the bills for sub¬ 
mission were defeated in the legislature. In connection 
with the election of 1844, negro suffrage w T as for the first 
time brought to public attention. The petition of six 
colored men was presented in the council, praying that the 
right of suffrage be extended to all persons holding real 
estate in the Territory, or taxable property to the value 
of one hundred dollars. 3 It was referred to a select com¬ 
mittee, who reported an amendment to the bill regulating 
elections, which amendment failed of adoption. In the 
house a similar petition was presented, and referred to a 
committee, which reported that “ it is not expedient to 
legislate on the subject.” 4 

During the year 1845 the fact that the people wanted a 
state government became apparent, and early in 1846 the 
preliminary measures were passed by congress and the 
Territorial legislature. On the 5th of January, 1846, the 
legislature convened at Madison. Governor Dodge sub¬ 
mitted his message, 5 and as much of it as related co state 


1 Ibid., p. 293. 

2 House Jour., Wis. Terr. Legis., 1838, p. 6; 1639, p. 9. 

3 Council Jour., Wis. Terr. Legis., 1844-1845, p. 230. 

4 House Jour., Wis. Terr. Legis., 1843-14, pp. 167, 336. 

6 Id., 1846, p. 12. 




THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN WISCONSIN. 


5 


government was referred to a committee, 1 2 which submitted 
a,n able report in favor of early state formation, accompanied 
by a bill for the purpose.- This bill, amended in some of 
its details, became a law. Under its provisions, “every 
white male inhabitant above the age of twenty-one years, 
who shall have resided in the Territory six months next 
previous thereto, and who shall either be a citizen of the 
United States, or shall have filed his declaration of inten¬ 
tion to become such according to the laws of the United 
States on the subject of naturalization, ” 3 was authorized to 
vote for or against the formation of a state government on 
the first Monday of April, 1846. If the majority were for 
state government, the governor was to make an apportion¬ 
ment of delegates among the several counties for a con¬ 
vention to form a state constitution. 4 The delegates having 
been duly elected were to meet at the capital on the first 
Monday of October, with full power to form a constitu¬ 
tion, which should be submitted to the people for ratifica¬ 
tion, in such manner and at such time as the convention 
should prescribe. 5 6 

The vote of the people w T as about six to one in favor of 
state government, 0 and accordingly the constitutional con¬ 
vention of 1846 assembled. Among its members were many 
who later obtained prominence in local affairs, and some 
who are not unknown throughout the United States. 7 After 
the usual organization and preliminary business there 
were appointed twenty-two committees. The report of the 
committee on suffrage and the elective franchise was the 
second to engage the attention of the delegates. 8 Unfor¬ 
tunately the debates on the suffrage were in the committee 


J Ibid., pp. 29, 32. 

2 Council Jour., Wis. Terr. Legis., 1846, pp. 44, 333. 

8 Laws of Wisconsin, 1846, pp. 5-12, sec. 1. 

4 Ibid., sec. 11. 

5 Ibid., sec. 16. 

6 Council Jour., Wis. Terr. Legis., Oct., 1847, p. 60. 

7 See Tenney and Atwood, Fathers of Wisconsin, containing biograph¬ 
ical sketches of members of the two constitutional conventions. 

8 Jour. Const. Conv., 1846, pp. 18, 19, 29. 



6 


WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 


of the whole, and no official reports of them are to be had. 
We may, however, rely on these statements of Moses M. 
Strong, one of the members of the convention, and author 
of the History of Wisconsin Territory. 

“ In view of the opposition and excited feeling which 
had been exhibited to the acts of the legislative assembly 
conferring upon unnaturalized foreigners the right of vot¬ 
ing for or against state government, and for delegates to 
the convention, it would seem reasonable to have expected 
some exhibitions of that feeling in the convention. 

" The article [on suffrage and the elective franchise], in 
that respect, only required the declaration of intention as 
a qualification for the right of suffrage. And, although there 
might have been, in committee of the whole, some attempt 
to restrict the right to citizens, yet if there was, it was so 
feebly sustained that it was never renewed in the conven¬ 
tion, where the ayes and noes could be had. 

“ The principal controversy in the discussion of this 
article was upon the subject of negro suffrage. 

“ This arose, in the first instance, upon the proposition of 
Mr. [Charles M.] Baker [of Walworth county], for a separate 
submission of an article giving the right of suffrage to 
colored male citizens. The proposition was discussed at 
great length, and defeated by a vote of 47 to 51. 

" The article was then adopted substantially as reported 
by the committee, except that voting by ballot was substi¬ 
tuted for a viva voce vote, as recommended by the com¬ 
mittee. ” 1 

A resolution was afterwards introduced, providing for 
the separate submission of a distinct article in accordance 
•with Mr. Baker’s proposition, and this was adopted. 2 

The work of the convention was finished December 16 r 
1846, and the proposed constitution was submitted to the 
people on the first Tuesday of April, 1847. It was rejected 
by a majority of more than six thousand in a total of thirty - 


1 Strong, p. 521. 

2 Jour. Const. Conv., 1846, p. 355. 




THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN WISCONSIN. 


7 


four thousand votes. 1 The principal objections to this con¬ 
stitution are usually given under live heads, 

1. The article in relation to the right of married women, 
which read as follows: “All property, real or personal, 
of the wife, owned by her at the time of her marriage, 
by gift, devise, descent, or otherwise than from her hus¬ 
band, shall be her separate property.” So familiar are we 
now with such provisions, that we can scarcely imagine 
that fifty years ago this one aroused most violent oppo¬ 
sition. 

2. The article on exemptions, which excepted forty 
acres of land, or the homestead not exceeding in value 
$1,000, when there was an execution or forced sale. 

3. The prohibition of banks of issue. 

4. The number of representatives in the legislature was 
considered as by far too large. 

5. The judiciary was made elective. 2 

To these, the editors of the Fathers of Wisconsin, who 
were newspaper reporters in the convention, added three: 3 

1. The northwest boundary line was drawn in such a 
manner that all the lower valley of Lake Pepin and St. 
Croix river would have been given to Minnesota. 

2. The salaries of the state officers were made unalter¬ 
able by the legislature. 

3. The “fatal objection” of the omission of a special 
article on corporations. 

Strong says that the democrats opposed the article on the 
rights of married women, and exemption, and the whig 
leaders the restrictions on banking. 4 “The contest was 
the most able, the most energetic, and the most exciting 
that ever occupied the attention of the people, and in many 
respects its like has not been seen in any subsequent con¬ 
troversy in the state, and the feelings of personal antago¬ 
nism between members of the dominant democratic party, 

1 Madison Daily Argus , May 18, 1847. 

2 Fathers of Wisconsin, p. 387. 

3 Ibid., pp. 386-388, note. 

4 Strong, p. 552. 



WISCONSIN HSTORICAL SOCIETY. 


who were arrayed against each other, were such that their 
effects were not easily nor for a long time eradicated.” 1 

It will be remembered that the proposition concerning 
negro suffrage was to be separately submitted to the peo¬ 
ple. The resolution covering this matter provided that if 
the majority of the people of Wisconsin Territory were in 
favor of equal suffrage to colored persons, the following 
section would be inserted in the constitution: ‘‘All male 
citizens of African blood possessing the qualifications re¬ 
quired by the first section of the article on ‘ suffrage and the 
elective franchise’ shall have a right to vote for all officers 
and be eligible to all offices that now are or hereafter may 
be elective by the people after the adoption of this constitu¬ 
tion. ” 2 The measure was defeated (ayes 7,664, nays 14,615),* 
and the result strikingly exhibits the influence which Wis¬ 
consin’s varied population has had on her legislation. 



The accompanying sketch-map tells the story. The south¬ 
western counties possessed a large southern element. In 

1 Ibid., p. 5S6. 

9 Jour. Const. Conv., 1847-48, p. 563. 

s The following returns of the vote are from the Madison Daily A rgus 



































THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN WISCONSIN. 


9 


these counties slaves had actually been held on this 
boasted free soil of the Northwest Territory , 1 and here 
v T e find the largest majorities against the proposition for 
negro suffrage. On the shore of Lake Michigan we again 
find opposition to the admission of blacks to citizenship. 


for May 16. I have not been able to find returns from Calumet, Chip¬ 
pewa, and La Pointe counties; they were thinly settled, and possibly 
no vote was taken there: 


Official returns of the vote on the constitution and negro suffrage for the 

election of April. 1841: 


• 

Constitution. 

Negro Suffrage. 

Yes. 

No. 

Yes. 

No. 

Brown and Manitowoc. 

331 

165 

31 

356 

Calumet . 





Columbia. 

66 

354 

70 

267 

Crawford. 

49 

150 

2 

153 

Chippewa . 





Dane. 

592 

962 

291 

693 

Dodge. 

803 

975 

483 

444 

Fond du Lac. 

624 

627 

450 

399 

Grant . 

532 

1,898 

93 

2,215 

Green. 

341 

607 

129 

* 628 

Iowa 5 





La Fayette [. 

1,444 

1,417 

69 

2,504 

Richland ) 





Jefferson. 

780 

1,233 

598 

525 

La Pointe . - • 





Marquette. 

184 

189 

147 

140 

Milwaukee. 

1,670 

1,996 

616 

1,832 

Portage. 

164 

209 

11 

253 

Racine. 

1,363 

2,474 

1,206 

763 

Rock... 

987 

1,977 

858 

994 

Sauk. 

111 

157 

58 

143 

Sheboygan. 

160 

374 

145 

217 

St. Croix. 

65 

61 

1 

126 

Walworth. 

981 

2,027 

1,094 

714 

Washington. 

1,478 

353 

84 

1,328 

Waukesha. 

1,246 

1,825 

1,107 

617 

Winnebago. 

137 

2 3 

12 L 

lu4 

Total. 

14,119 

20,233 

7,664 

14,615 



14,119 


j 7,664 



6,114 

! 

6,951 


1 Davidson, “Negro Slavery in Wisconsin,” Proc. Wis. Hist. Soc, .1892. 






























































10 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL. SOCIETY. 

There were the most populous of the German settlements, 
and by an attempt made in the convention of 1846 to 
couple the vote on foreign suffrage with that on negro suf¬ 
frage, the antagonism of the Germans was aroused. 1 2 The 
solid strip showing majorities for it can easily, be ac¬ 
counted for when one reflects that those were then and 
are still the counties chiefly settled by New England ers.- 

Toward the close of the following September, the gov¬ 
ernor issued a proclamation, calling a special session of the 
legislature for the 18th of October, the prescribed business 
being to take action in relation to the admission of the 
state into the union, and to adopt such other measures as the 
public good might require. 3 The legislators met at Madi¬ 
son, and in a ten days’ session provided for the election of 
sixty-nine delegates to form a new constitutional conven¬ 
tion, and made all the necessary regulations concerning 
their election. The requirements for suffrage were the 
same as for the preceding convention. 4 

The second convention for the purpose of forming a 
state constitution assembled December 15, 1847. The 
usual routine business was transacted during the first few 
days, and on the 24th of December the committee on gen¬ 
eral provisions reported the article on suffrage, with the 
following qualifications for voting: 

‘‘Section 1. All free white male persons, of the age of 
twenty-one years, or upwards, belonging to any of the fol¬ 
lowing classes of persons, shall constitute the qualified elec¬ 
tors at any election authorized by this constitution or by 
any law: 

“ 1st. Citizens of the United States, who at the time of 
the adoption of this constitution by the people of Wiscon¬ 
sin were actual residents of this state. 

“2nd. Citizens of the United States, having become resi¬ 
dents of the state of Wisconsin after the adoption of this 

1 Wisconsin Banner, Milwaukee, Oct. 17, 1846. 

2 Tbwaites, Story of Wisconsin , p. 235. 

3 Madison Weekly Argus, Sept. 28,1847. 

4 Laws of Wisconsin, October, 1847, p. 3. 




THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN WISCONSIN. 


I I 

constitution, and who shall have resided within this state 
for six months. 

3rd. Persons, not citizens of the United States, who at 
the time of the adoption of this constitution by the people 
were actual residents of Wisconsin, and had declared their 
intention to become citizens of the United States, in con¬ 
formity with the laws of Congress for the naturalization of 
aliens, and who shall have actually resided within this 
state for six months. 

******** 

Section 3. No person under guardianship, or non 
compos mentis , insane, or convicted of treason or felony, 
shall be permitted to vote at any election, unless restored 
to civil rights by law, or by removal of natural or other 
inability. ” 1 

Six days later, the convention, in committee of the 
whole, took the proposed article under consideration. It 
elicited much debate, chiefly on two provisions: the grant¬ 
ing of the elective franchise to unnaturalized foreigners, 
and to the negroes. Judge Dunn, of Lafayette, offered as 
an amendment to the committee’s report, this substitute 
for section one: “In all elections, every white male citi¬ 
zen above the age of twenty-one years, having resided in 
the state one year next preceding any election, shall be 
entitled to vote at such election; and every white male 
inhabitant of the age aforesaid, who may be a resident of 
the state at the time of the adoption of this constitution, 
shall have the right of voting aforesaid. ” 2 

The next day a long debate on the subject engaged the 
attention of the convention. Dunn’s sympathies were with 
the foreigners, for his father was a native of Ireland. 3 

The majority, however, opposed it, and perhaps the report 
of Mr. Rountree’s remarks will sum up the views of the ma¬ 
jority who voted against the amendment: 4 “Native citizens 

1 Jour. Const. Conv., 1847-48, pp. 64, 65. 

2 Ibid., p. 145. 

3 Ibid., p. 147. See also, Fathers of Wisconsin, p. 204. 

Jour . Const. Conv., 1847-48, p. 179. 



12 


WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 


were required to reside in the country twenty-one years be¬ 
fore being allowed to vote. He had not heard any one, not 
even the most progressive, propose to shorten the term of 
residence required of the native citizen. No one had 
moved to reduce the term required of a citizen from twenty- 
one to eighteen or sixteen years; and yet he believed that 
a native citizen was as well qualified to vote understand¬ 
ing^ after a residence of sixteen or eighteen years as the 
foreigners could be after a residence of five years.” 

The discussions on negro suffrage are more interesting, 
and particularly when considered in connection with the 
popular vote on the subject the spring before. Mr. Esta- 
brook, of Walworth, first broached the subject by moving 
to insert a section granting universal suffrage to all in the 
Territory, and leaving the further regulation of the matter to 
law. 1 He said, in introducing it: ‘‘Among the resolutions 
passed by the whig convention of that [Walworth] county 
one year ago last fall, was one instructing their delegates to 
go for universal suffrage, etc., and he had good reason to be¬ 
lieve that one half of the democratic party of that county 
were in favor of the same principle.” 2 Mr. Estabrook 
came of Puritan ancestry, and it is said that he “took a 
position far in advance of his party at that time,” 3 partic¬ 
ularly, it seems to me, in his later speeches. 

A motion to strike out the word “ white ” was lost 
(22 to 45), 4 but Mr. Estabrook, who had voted against strik¬ 
ing out “white,” offered an amendment adding this pro¬ 
viso: “ Provided , however , That the legislature shall at any 
time have the power to admit colored persons to the right 
of suffrage on such terms and under such restrictions as 
may be determined by law. ” 5 He said, in explanation of 
his motion, that “ when he first came to this Territory, 
seven years ago, a corpora’s guard could not be found to 

1 Ibid ., p. 130. 

2 Ibid., p. 130. 

3 Fathers of Wisconsin , p. 212, 

4 Jour. Const . Conv., 1817-48, p. 145. 

>Ibid., p. 180. 




THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN WISCONSIN. 13 

favor colored suffrage. Since then the public mind had 
been progressing. Last spring the county of Walworth 
gave about four hundred majority in favor of it; Racine 
gave a majority for it; Rock and Milwaukee gave a large 
vote for it; and Waukesha gave a majority in favor of it; 
and w T hat he asked was, that when the public mind had 
advanced to a point where a majority should be in favor of 
abolishing this odious distinction, that then that majority 
should not be bound, hand and foot, by constitutional pro¬ 
hibitions. ” 1 The amendment was adopted by a vote of 35 
to 34, 2 but the following day it was reconsidered (34 to 35). 3 4 
Three projects were submitted for the future admission of 
colored men to participation in the rights of citizenship;* 
a fourth, which was finally adopted, omitted the word 

colored and substituted therefor “persons not herein 
mentioned,’’ as likely to be more acceptable to the people. 5 
The people of the state voted in 1849 to extend the right 
of suffrage to colored people. The validity of the amend¬ 
ment was contested, and it was not till 1866—seventeen 
years later — that the courts sustained its binding force. 6 
Almost any old citizen of Wisconsin can cite instances 
where colored men, although not legally entitled to vote, 
voted regularly; and a Milwaukee newspaper, a few months 
ago, recorded the death of a negro who had been on a jury 
before the War of Secession. The colored population of 
Wisconsin has always been so small that the question has 
simply been one of principle. 

The entire article on suffrage, as it stood in the consti¬ 
tution until 1882, passed in the convention by a vote of 
52 to 13. 7 By it all white citizens of the United States, white 

1 Ibid., p. 183. 

2 Ibid., p. 180. 

3 Ibid., p. 185. 

4 Ibid., p. 201. 

5 Ibid., p. 201. It may be interesting to note here that in 1886 suffrage 
was, under this provision, granted to women in school elections. {Laws 
of Wis., 1885, ch. 211.) 

6 See Turner, The Gerrymander in Wisconsin (2nd ed., p. 8). 

7 Jour . Const. Conv., 1817-48, p. 210. 



WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 


>4 

persons of foreign birth who had declared their intentions, 
persons of Indian blood who had once been declared citi¬ 
zens of the United States, any subsequent law of Congress 
to the contrary notwithstanding, and civilized persons of 
Indian descent, not members of any tribe, were entitled to 
vote; and all must have had a residence of one year in the 
Territory. 1 The following classes were excluded: persons 
under guardianship, non compos mentis , or insane, persons 
convicted of bribery,, larceny, or any infamous crime, and 
those interested in bets or wagers on the election, 2 In 1882 
the section was amended, and a residence in the election 
district was thereafter required. The actual time is ten 
days, but the legislature can not require more than thirty 
days. A proviso was also added, giving the legislature 
power to “ provide for the registration of electors and pre¬ 
scribe proper rules and regulations therefor,” in incorpo¬ 
rated cities and villages. 

On March IB, 1848, the Territorial legislature adjourned 
sine die , and on the same day the constitution of the new 
state was ratified by popular vote. 3 

The state officers made elective by the constitution, and 
by subsequent acts of the legislature, at the present time 
are: governor, lieutenant-governor, secretary of state, 
state treasurer, attorney-general, state superintendent of 
schools, 4 railroad commissioner, 5 6 insurance commissioner, 
state senators, and members of the assembly. 7 In the 
county, the people elect their clerk, 8 treasurer, 9 sher¬ 
iff, 10 coroner, 11 clerk of the circuit court, 12 register of 

1 Constitution of Wisconsin , art. iii., sec. 1. 

2 Ibid., sec. 6. 

3 Strong, p. 582. 

4 Constitution of Wisconsin, art. v., sec. 1. 

5 Laws of Wisconsin, 1874, ch. 273, sec. 8; Id., 1881, ch. 300. 

6 Id., 1878, ch. 214; Id., 1881, ch. 300. 

7 Constitution of Wisconsin, art. iv., sec. 4. 

8 Ibid., sec. 5. 

9 Sanborn & Berryman, Annotated Statutes, sec. 698, p. 430. 

10 Ibid., same reference. 

11 Constitution of Wisconsin, art. vi., sec. 4. 

12 Ibid., same reference. 






THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN WISCONSIN. 


15 


deeds, 1 district attorney, 2 surveyor, 3 superintendent of 
schools, 4 and members of the board of supervisors. 5 In 
the towns, are elected members of the town board of su¬ 
pervisors, the clerk, treasurer, assessor, four constables, 
four justices of the peace (two annually), 6 and the over¬ 
seers of highways, which last need not be elected by 
ballot. 7 In the cities, are elected the mayor, aldermen, and 
city treasurer, while each ward elects its justices of the 
peace, and sends its supervisor to the county board. 
All the judges in the state are elected. The five justices 
of the supreme court are elected for ten years, the seven¬ 
teen circuit judges for six years, and the several county 
judges hold office for four years. The constitution pro¬ 
vides that “ There shall be no election for a judge or judges 
at any general election for state or county officers, 
nor within thirty days either before or after such elections.” 8 

Amendments to the constitution may be made in two 
ways: by the legislature and by county conventions, 9 but 
only the first method has ever been used. 

‘ The process of amending the constitution by the legis¬ 
lature is as follows: 

“ 1. An amendment may be proposed in either house. 

“ 2. The vote must be taken by yeas and nays. 

”3. The proposed amendment must be agreed to by a 
majority of all the members elected to each house. 

“4. It must be published for three months before the 
next general election. 

“ 5. • It must be agreed to by a majority of all the mem¬ 
bers of each house in the next legislature. 

‘‘6. It must be submitted to the people. 

1 Ibid., art. vi., sec. 4. 

2 Ibid., art. vii., sec 12. 

3 Sanborn & Berryman, sec. 698, p. 430. 

4 Constitution of Wisconsin , art. x., sec. 1. 

6 Sanborn & Berryman, sec. 662, p. 412. 

6 Ibid., sec. 808, pp. 480, 481. 

7 Ibid., sec. 797, p. 478. 

8 Constitution of Wisconsin, art. vii., sec. 9. 

9 Ibid., art. xii., secs. 1, 2. 





WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. 


]6 

“ 7. It must have a majority of all votes cast on that 
subject. ” 1 

The constitution has been amended in this way thirteen 
times, 2 3 and several times the legislature has proposed 
amendments which the people have failed to ratify. 5 

The first law looking towards the adoption of the Aus¬ 
tralian ballot system was passed in 1887. This applied 
only to Milwaukee, and enacted that each voting precinct 
was to be provided with two adjoining rooms — a ticket 
room and an inspector’s room. In the ticket room were to 
be tables or compartments, on or in which were to be 
placed the tickets prepared by the different parties. At 
each table or compartment was to be a custodian of tick¬ 
ets, appointed by the ward committee issuing the ticket 
there displayed. These custodians were under oath not to 
attempt to influence the electors. The manner of voting 
prescribed was as follows: a voter entered the ticket 
room, and selected a ticket or tickets (for he could take 
one of each sort if he wished). He then passed into the 
voting room, cast his ballot, and passed out through an¬ 
other door. No crowd could collect within one hundred 
feet, and no one could solicit votes or offer tickets within 
the same limit. 4 

This law, while good, missed two essential points of the 
present system, i. e., complete and compulsory secrecy in 
voting, and a single ballot containing all the names printed 
and distributed by the government. 

In April, 1889, what was known as the “Cooper law ” 
was passed without a dissenting voice in either branch of 

1 Wright, Exposition of the Constitution of Wisconsin, p. 150. 

2 The articles and sections amended are as follows: Art. iv., sec. 21, 
Nov. 5,1867; art. v., secs. 5 and 9, Nov. 2,186£; art. i., sec. 8, Nov. 8, 1870; 
art. iv., secs. 31 and 32, Nov. 7, 1871; art. xi., sec. 3, Nov. 3, 1874; art. vii., 
sec. 4, Nov. 6,1877; art. viii., sec. 2, Nov. 6, 1877; art. iii., sec. 1, Nov. 7, 
1882; art. iv., secs. 4, 5,11, and 21, Nov. 8,1881; art. vi., sec. 4, Nov. 7,1882; 
art. xiii., sec. 1, Nov. 7,1882; art. vii., sec. 4, April 2,1889; and art. iv., sec. 
31, April 8,1892. 

3 See Wisconsin Blue Books, 1870-75,1877. 

4 Laws of Wisconsin, 1887, ch. 850. 



THE ELECTIVE FRANCHISE IN WISCONSIN. 


1 7 


the legislature. Its provisions, however, did not apply to 
Milwaukee or to elections for town and village officers. 
It was entitled, “An act to prevent espionage at public 
elections, to secure more fully the independence of voters, to 
enforce the secrecy of the ballot, and to provide for print¬ 
ing and distributing ballots at public expense. ” Under this 
act, a nomination might be made in two ways: by a conven¬ 
tion or primary meeting, and by the circulation of a nomina¬ 
tion paper. The nomination papers of all candidates were 
to be filed with the county clerk between forty and twenty 
days before the election,— or with the secretary of state 
when the offices were to be filled by the electors of the 
entire state, or a district greater than a county. Between 
fifteen and twenty days before the election, the secretary of 
state was to send to the county clerks a list of the candidates 
for the state at large, and for districts larger than a 
county. At least seven days before the election, the 
county clerk was to publish “Information to voters,” in at 
least two and not more than four local papers of different 
political principles, and also to have large cards printed in 
English, and such other languages as he deemed necessary, 
giving instructions to electors in the preparation of their 
ballots. In cities, all election information was to be fur¬ 
nished to the public by the city clerk. No particular form 
was prescribed for the ballots, further than that they were 
to be printed on a certain grade of paper, and could not 
be more than 13£ inches long nor less than twelve inches 
wide. Before delivering the blank ballot paper to the 
voter, the tw T o ballot clerks were each to write their names 
or initials upon the back. The elector then retired to 
one of the several compartments, or stalls, in the booth, 
marked the ballot according to printed instructions before 
him, folded it so that the face w T as concealed, and depos¬ 
ited it in the box. 1 This act w T as amended in a few par¬ 
ticulars the same session. 2 

At the next session of the legislature, an additional act 


1 Laws of Wisconsin , 1889, ch. 248. 

2 Ibid., ch. 494. 




1 8 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY". 

was passed. It did not apply to town or village elections, 
nor to elections in cities having a population of fifty thou¬ 
sand or more,— the intent being, of course, to exclude 
Milwaukee, the only Wisconsin city having a population 
as great as this. The form of the ballot was prescribed 
more definitely in this act. Provision was also made for 
the appointment of two party agents for each polling 
place, “to act as challengers for their respective parties 
and candidates, and to observe the proceedings of election 
officers.” 1 2 

In 1893 an act was passed, “To consolidate and revise 
the statutes of the state relating to general elections, to 
conduct and canvass returns of the same, and to secure the 
secrecy and purity of the ballot, and for other purposes,” 
and its provisions apply to all cities, towns and counties in 
the state. It went into effect July 1, 1893, and does not 
differ very greatly from the acts already described. 3 

While the history of the elective franchise in Wisconsin 
is not a record of great changes, like those to which suf¬ 
frage has been subjected in the older states, it is never¬ 
theless of interest to note the effect of a new environment- 
on old subjects. The Eastern states settled, one by one, 
the question of property qualification, of color, etc., in the 
early years of the century. Wisconsin, born at its merid¬ 
ian, in working out these questions brought to bear on 
them Eastern prejudices modified by the conditions of 
Western life. 

1 Id., 1891, ch. 379. The ballot is, by law, reproduced in facsimile in 
the official election notices in the local newspapers, just preceding a gen¬ 
eral election. 

2 Laws of Wisconsin , 1893, ch. 238. 




